Climate by Whitney Houston is a thought provoking poetry book. Through many different poems you get told of love and loss. I would recommend this book to people who love thought provoking poetry. A solid 4/5.

I hadn't read poetry in such a long time that this book felt like a cold shower in a hot summer day. The poetry is so simple yet it carries so much weight that is sure to hit the mark in one way or the other. Whitney takes us on a journey through different moments in life and it feels so raw and honest that it's just amazing.

It's truly a beautiful read.

I came across this book at just the right time in my life. It soothed my soul in a way I didn't know I needed. The poems were simultaneously sad and hopeful.

Whitney Hanson is an author I keep returning to. Her poetry is thoughtful and invites introspection. While her work doesn’t inspire a deep, soul-searching response in me, I do find myself pausing to consider what I read, often rereading and highlighting as I go. She makes me think about my own thoughts from a different angle, sometimes answering long-held questions. I recognize some of my own feelings in her work as well. As a person living with major depressive disorder, I empathized with her statement that “the worst part about having a sickness that/ exists only within my head isn’t that no/ one else can see it. it’s that i can’t see it/ either.”
I am reminded that I am deserving of self-love when Hanson writes “the circle will only cease when i learn to/ forgive myself, when i can accept that i will/ never be perfect when i surrender in a war/ where the enemy is me;” and she gives everyone the valuable advice that “maybe getting better isn’t a cosmic shift it’s/ just waking up every day and trying.”
I also relate to her thoughts about writing: “ […] i transform feeling/ into words i make my agony two/ dimensional so that it doesn’t hurt. it’s my/ magic.” I find catharsis in writing, as I am sure so many other writers do. Reading Whitney Hanson’s writing is like meeting a friend for coffee and a long heart to heart: comforting, safe, inviting you to unburden yourself without fear of judgement or abandonment. I have recommended her books to friends that don’t read poetry, because I knew they needed to hear what she had to say to them.

This intense, emotional poetry collection isn’t (no matter what the title suggests) about climate change, but it does take its cues from the broader climate: the weather, the seasons, the cultural connections that pull us together and push us apart. It’s about love, loss, the way the rain makes us feel, and the sun (or lack thereof) in our hearts. I wouldn’t call this an environmental book, except the natural world is intrinsically part of the human experience, and Hanson dives into that without restraint.

I really enjoyed this poetry! overall I think it hits the same common topics from mental health and romance that other popular poets do (Lang Leav, Atticus, Yung Pueblo, Courtney Peppernell) but I still found myself highlighting a ton of relatable lines that it felt refreshing enough to read!

I’m not typically a poetry reader, but Climate spoke to me on a soul-deep level. Whitney Hanson has this rare ability to put emotions into words in a way that feels like she’s reaching into your chest and naming feelings you didn’t even realize were there.

I first found her on Instagram—yes, that lighthouse poem—and I’ve been a fan ever since. This book didn’t disappoint. The revised edition adds even more richness with new poems and a thoughtful introduction that frames the journey so well.

There’s a quiet power in the way she writes. Whether she’s talking about heartbreak, healing, or just navigating everyday mental fog, it all feels deeply human and affirming. I kept finding lines I wanted to underline, memorize, or whisper to someone I love.

Climate is the kind of book I want in every format: hard copy, ebook, audiobook… vinyl audiobook if that’s a thing! It’s comforting, inspiring, and absolutely enthralling.

I am unsure if I am just getting pickier with poetry, or if these types of poems just feel overdone because I have read so many collections of poetry that seem the exact same as this one. Every time I read a poetry collection lately, I can't help but thinking that Trista Mateer or Clementine von Radics wrote the same thing, but with more wit and more punch.

I am not here to judge the experiences behind what this poet is writing, but typing in choppy paragraphs in all lowercase letters does not make a collection amazing. I am not judging just this book for doing this, it's just a trend I have seen with poetry collections lately and I am mentioning it in this review.

I think this could be good for someone just getting into poetry, but if you have read a lot of poetry like me, it might miss the mark. I think the topics in this collection is highly relatable, so it will be very digestible to a larger audience.

I am a huge fan of Whitney Hanson’s work, and I was greatly looking forward to this book getting published. It has deeply emotional themes that I’m sure a great many can relate to. What I like about Whitney’s writing is that she does not shy away from being too raw for sake of seeming very negative— rather, she embraces it, knowing that the best way to help those who are in a low point is to let them know that they are not alone. This book is full of highs and lows, just as life is.

I didn't connect to her poetry this time around. I could tell she was putting her heart on paper but it didn't sit with me. I think in the future, I could come back to this book and connect to it in a different way. It was a decent read and I would still recommend it to friends and family.

4.25 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Whitney Hanson for the opportunity to read this ARC! This revised edition of Whitney’s bestselling poetry book, Climate, has a new introduction and more than a dozen new poems.

Surprisingly, this was my first time reading a poetry book by Whitney Hanson, and it was a fantastic first impression! I absolutely loved this book. I had almost 20 pages flagged on my Kindle and even more highlights. Most of her poems focused on mental health and past relationships. Due to my personal experiences and career path, I particularly loved the mental health poems. I love poetry because it creates connections and promotes emotional healing + feeling. I definitely think there is a disconnect of what people think poetry is like, but it has progressed so much. If you love modern poetry, or are curious about it, I definitely recommend checking this one out when it’s published on July 8th!

It was hard to choose just one, but here’s one of my favorites ✨

on the days
when the little things
become too much
and even the smallest movement
requires the greatest strength

you are not fragile
you are not weak
you are climbing mountains
that nobody sees

On a random day in 2024, I found a poet reciting one of her poems in an Instagram reel. Intrigued, I looked at her profile and found out she went by the name Whitney Hanson. I found her books on goodreads and added them, but I didn’t read any of her books, until today.
Climate has what I look for in a poetry book. Recently, I feel like I’ve been reading poetry books that feel… lifeless. The poems aren’t always necessary bad, but they just don’t have feeling. Climate, however, is the complete opposite of that kind of book. I found myself relating to the poet’s struggle, her feelings, and the way she treated herself. I liked what the poetry book was trying to teach the reader through all the poems. I feel like the poet was very vulnerable in this, which is always something I can appreciate. I really liked Climate and I would be interested in reading more of her poetry in the future.

This book had such amazing potential. The cover and topics reminded me of some really big names such as Lang Leav and Michael Faudet However, the actual writing fell flat. I absolutely enjoyed that the author took a chance and discussed mental illness and was vulnerable in their writing. This shows bravery. However, the formatting made it extremely difficult to follow. I could not tell when one poem started and when one finished. This made it extremely difficult to enjoy.

I was not in love with this title, and I think that was partly due to the formatting of the book on my reading device. Nothing flowed as it should have.

Thank you so much to the publishers for this arc. I have seen Whitney on Instagram, reciting her poetry and I liked those poems a lot. But wtf is this book.... If this is poetry than I'm Katrina Kaif....